Treadwell WED-15 .......the Rise of the Machine..... Part 29

Post started 4th September 2025 - into October.

Treadwell has taken a back seat for a while now, but I wanted to finish building him before our annual builders Christmas meet-up, so with renewed energy.

List of things to do is always a good start:

    1. New idler axles                x 6 off👍

        New drive axles                x 2 off👍

    2. New correct Wheel spacers x 6 off👍

    3. New motors                     x 2 off......................??? 👈

    4. Signal booster fix. 👈

    5. Mast box build - 3D printed parts etc. - click here to see Box Build Post.   

    6. Remove the original guide wedges from the tracks.👍

    7. 3D print more new round track guides. 👍

    8. Remove the paint from the drive wheels [sticky]👍

    9. New front 'tension' blocks. 👈

    10. Unexpected track repair......... but then a WIN!!! 👈

    11. Volume knob. 👈

    12. Fake antenna UPGRADE. 👍

    13. LED's fitting to 'eyes'.

    14. Constraining the ‘eyes’ to each other.

1. Starting with....new axles:

I bought an 8mm dia rod months back, but it was slightly over size so needed turning down on the lathe in work, to fit through the bearings etc.

First one turned out good [turned.....machined.....see what I did there 😂]. Only having lunchtimes to do this, drill a centre hole to then use a revolving centre so as to be able to machine the full length of the spindles. Next is to then thread the ends for the flanged M8 Nylock nuts.

I also needed to machine up two new longer drive axles, to allow for the wheel spacers. These are 10mm diameter, stepped down to 6mm dia for the shaft coupler. No reason really for the 10mm dia size, except that this was going to be the size for all the axles.

2. Wheel spacers:

On closer inspection of the alternative WED base droid, seen in Mos Eisley ally way, WED-9-M1 (Star Wars Fandom), you see that the tracks are spaced away from the body!

WED-9-M1 DROID

So I had drawn up and 3D print off spacers, to match. Not sure how, but I got the diameter different, so had to reprint these. Not sure yet if these will be free rotating or if I will glue them to the wheels.

Pic from July 2024:

3.New Motors:

A possibility......???

My thoughts were that perhaps they wouldn't be up to the power needed. Even though testing proved they are.

4. Signal boosters:

I found that when WED was fully assembled, I was having problems with controlling his arm and head. One possibility was that the battery was low. The second was that [with my first time sending a signal over this long length of cable] the signal was too weak. So I bought two sets of boosters fly-leads to try 👍.

servo signal booster

5. Mast box build:

I had already drawn up plans for this when I designed the head box. See independent post for more details.

6 & 7 Track guide wedges - DELETED:

The 'screen accurate' guide wedges, were unfortunately too stiff for the tracks, and weren't flexible enough. So had to remove them and replace them with the new 3D printed round track guides [POINT 7].

7. Track guides:

I tried a few different variables, one being a slightly tapered diameter, after my original 'cannon' style didn't work, I decided to try this [credit goes to Paul's Bots]. Link to Paul's tread/wheels build.

I need to narrow the wheels channel for better location of the guides. So more 3D CAD/printing required.

UPDATE: 16.9.25

The new inner wheel guides printed great on version 2. These were slightly modified for structural strength and because visually they don't need to have the slits in like the wheels themselves.

After testing, I will update the 3D wheel models to incorporate this addition.

Here are the new wheel inner track guides, in black, glued in.

idle wheel with inner track guides

Test first guide popped into place on the track.

 

As with Paul, I made a 3D printed drill template so that the holes would all be central on the track. I did have to modify mine from the one I created from my moulds as the teeth sizes were slightly narrower.

So a total of 140 were printed off. 80 off each for every other groove.

8. Drive wheels paint removal:

The paint reacted with the curing rubber had became sticky, sticking to the tracks. So using sand paper, I removed the thick paint from the outer diameter faces.

9. Front 'tension' blocks:

The axles for the two front wheels were long enough, so I just altered the [3D printed] inside face that has the nut recess, so that a Nylock nut can secure the axles in place.

The location on the base has to be repositioned as the original tracks were a bit too long, requiring some woodworking alterations.

10. Track repair/replacement:

It wasn't on my original list of things to do, but on removing one or two of the 'track guide wedges', on an early join [one NOT overlapping] the joint broke. So I ordered some more rubber mix, but repair work will be put on hold as....... 👇👇👇

New Tracks:

11.Sept.2025

I thought I'd have another search inline for the tracks [super-charger timing belts] and found some here in the UK [at last]. Decided to bite the bullet and purchase a pair.

Click picture for link to Bolton Engineering Products.

I have no affiliation with this company, am linking for future builders.

The calculated cost of me making my own tracks was over £100 in total, not including the time to design up and 3D print off the moulds etc. The fact that they are also NOT internally web meshed, didn't fill me with confidence on they're lasting performance. They would still be ok for 'display' purposes.

UPDATE: 16.9.25

Belts arrived and I couldn't be more happier 😊😊😊😊😊

It may sound strange, but there are certain things that, for reliability, need to be sound. The fact that Tread needs the tracks to be 100% dependable/straight/strong, means that driving him with confidence is now a guarantee.

11. Volume Knob:

Still not as loud as R5, plus it does need to have a noise suppressor fitted. So whilst searching for ideas, I found this for drone fpv video feed interference suppression.

I fitted it, after some testing to find the cause, inline with the mini 'step down voltage regulator.'

And of course, I had to CAD up a bracket for it to be mounted onto the control board. The volume still isn't up to the loudness of R5......

12. Fake Antenna base:    [6.10.25]

I wasn't really happy with the fact that the fake rear antenna, was made out of a steel piece of bar, no flexibility and defo safety concerns lol.

So drew up an adaptor in TPU that fits between the two parts as a test. This then fits onto the original base part. The upper section is also now a found piece of leftover carbon tube.

13. LED's fitting to 'eyes':    [8.10.25]

This had been on my to-do list to bring some 'life' to Tread. Recently got hold of some large blue bulbs and sockets for them off eBay. Drew up a holder in CAD and 3D printed off some test versions, figuring out along the way how best to install them.

Originally it was going to be on the inside base of the head units.

Idea no2 was to mount the LED brackets to the rear of the lens window frames.

Tested the LED bulb behind the acrylic and it looks good, but needs to be diffused more????

14. Constraining the ‘Eyes’: (16.10.25)

The single-servo’d ‘Eye’, wasn’t very well linked/connected to the other. This bugged me!

So I needed a better way to constrain its movements.

I came up with the idea of installing the geared parts from a broken servo, into the unservo’d housing. So I re-designed the fake piston and connected both servo horn arms to it. Making the second ‘eye’ constrained with the servo controlled one.

UPDATE POST WITH picture(s)..........

Almost the end of November, and still have a few last things to get ready before the annual Droid Builders Christmas get-together....

A weekend blitz on the to-do list including the mast box build, and the final piece was to open up the slot for the front wheel axle, and some new location plate holes.

All (99%) complete, ready for next Saturday…… display and testing lol.

This Build has reached 29 stages, so to round off, I'll post one last Blog update with loads of photos lol, to make it a nice round 30.

#treadwelldroid #droidbuilders #rebeldroidsnet #3dprinting

Servo tester MOD upgrade for Mike B

10th October 2025

Mike B’s new project requires a few servos, the tester wasn’t functioning properly so said id have a look as well as check on the mini servo he had.

I 3D printed off a slightly modified housing, his tester circuit board differs from my version so the hole positions didn’t match up properly.

I had already made myself a version for testing on my bench, plugging in to a 12v power supply. The voltage regulator was adjusted down to 6v max for testing and a digital voltage gauge was installed.

Treadwell WED-15-77: Part 28

July 2024:

Here was to be the final instalment of the Treadwell build 😀

Recent work has been mostly focused on making the sledge to transport WED on, via the cars roof rack.

Sounds:

Needed to fit a speaker and wasn’t happy with my original position idea. So decided to fit in inside the ‘logic housing’.

Position located:

How to find the centre of a circle lol

Dug out this adjustable hole cutter. Think I last used this to make the holes in R5’s legs!

Making a start on the hole.

One hole cut out.

Speaker fitted with its spacer ring, that I had previously made for the GOID-4 messenger Droid.

Re-installed the ‘Logic housing’ (the hole cutter wouldn’t fit inside it).

I had added longer leads from it to reach the amplifier board.

Just need to finish off some connections and save some sound files. Keep forgetting these last two pieces. Needed to buy a proper servo controlled switch, similar to the one used in R5, but this ones a single and much smaller.

Another tweak, was the addition of a volume (potentiometer) to boost the sound. When I couldn’t hear it at Mshed event, I knew I had to install one.

3D printed the knob from a file on the Prusa printables website.

Had to rewire the signal to volume dial to amp to speaker wires.

Claw arm servo:

The new micro servo arrived sooner than expected lol, but I had already started on a modified 3D printable housing to fit a new metal geared SG90 size servo. It didn’t take up much more space , but i had to reposition the securing screw, and add a second one.

I used brass knurled threaded inserts & M3 screws.

I made a slot in the side to allow the servo horn some freedom. This once finished, could be covered.

I needed to add a slot in the claws tube to allow some flexibility for the wire that connects to the servo horn.

I also added a location hole for a screw.

Next was to remove the servo plug so that it could connect with the servo lead.

Almost forgot about painting it…..

Primer applied after some sanding.

Weathering:

Dug out the paints and got to adding brown, yellow and ochre.

Then black to give the dirty oily look.

At the Mshed event, I was asked by some of the builders if Tread was metal construction, they were surprised to hear the upper section was all 3D printing.

Upgrades:

I know I said this was going to be the last post on this build, but I have a few more tweeks to do with things I wasn’t happy with, so there’s more to come.

July 25th…….

Wheels:

The original wheels were spaced away from the base, as can be seen in these two  photo.

original deleted scene SW ANH

remade version for the prequals

    

So I decided to draw up some spacers and 3D printed them. This along with some more substantial axle bushes with bearings in, to better support and properly align the wheels. And finally, some new axle's at over 180mm in length!

R4-D4 dome - life form scanner update 2024 (not completed)

Original post - July 2024:

It’s been a few years now since I last worked on the lift setup. So decided I needed to get back on it again.

The problem I had was being able to set up the Pololu control board.

October 2024: didn't get around to following up on this......

Instagram post: QR codes

Says to save these to your phone and then press and hold to open link to instagram posts.

So if this works and you get to my Instagram page, leave a like/comment saying that the Blog brought you there lol.

Trading Card Dispenser: original idea

Got asked a question on my YouTube channel about swapping the mini motor for a servo.

This was actually one of my first attempts ,back in 2019, to achieve the cards being dispensed.

As you’ll see in the short video below, it worked but wasn’t very reliable for repeating the operation.

Then there was the issue of the servo AND its wheel, of being too bulky and its protrusion above the box, for fitting into a confined space.

I may revisit this though, using learned knowledge from the build ideas that followed.

Treadwell WED-15 droid build : Part 13B - The Claw [actuation]

Just a small post, this refers to the Claw activation. It’s been a while, as have been working on a major side project and forgot to mention this (I think).

So the micro/nano servo I had bought a few years ago for R4’s ‘life form scanner’ was dug out of retirement 😂 and just like Obi-Won, found itself a new purpose.

These two images show the outside profile. The split line is down the vertical middle, two half's printed flat face down. The slot in the side is to view the servo [as why not lol] and the hole in the opposite side is the location for the M3 screw that fits into the Brass knurled insert, in the other half, to hold pieces together.

The 3D printed end piece I decided needed to be modified, away from being screen accurate, in order to be able to mount the servo inside of it.

👉👉👉YouTube link to it in action.

Treadwell WED-15 droid build : Part 13A - moulding lenses

The mast sections were masked off, primer'd and silver spray painted.

This included silver spray painting the claw arm parts.

I’d ordered some more primer as well as some clear mat spray to coat to seal the paint.

The mast was getting close to being finished. So I thought I’d turn my attention to drawing up the wheels, in case I decide to 3D print them, here they are added to the assembly model.

I looked at the print time for the main drive wheel in ABS, lol that’s definitely a weekend print.

After finding out that there’s a mold function in Cura, I thought I’d have a go at casting the lens. So I ordered some 1-1 ration clear resin to test.

This was a test pour as not to waste. The 3D printed mold, was not as good idea as first thought lol 😂  so on to plan B, using a proper mold material over the top of one of my previous 3D lens. We had some of this two part molding putty that when mixed together sets to a solid but still pliable material. So before it set, I placed it over the top of the polypropylene lens I had printed a while ago. Left it overnight to fully cure.

Then in work the next day, I mixed up the resin and poured it into the rubber mold.

The result isn’t that bad:

It takes about 24hours to fully cure.

Next part to be painted, I masked up the servo neck collar as it required a black band. I used matt black spray I had left over.

And the result:

I had chosen matt finish for the clear coat. I was a bit disappointed at first as it dulled the shiny chrome look of the parts, but after a while it grew on me. It looks like real un-machined Aluminium now. It will look different again once weathering is applied.

I reassembled the claw arm components along with the servo pivot horn to activate the lift mechanism. Really happy with this. 

The main pivot rod needed to be angled and bent into place to better fit the servo position.

This is where the servo will be located.

Next was to mark (see below picture) and cut the PVC pipe to allow the components to fit inside it and the mast.

The list of little things is a long one.

• The rear lens holders needed to be glued in place.
• The recess in the front of the second eye needed to be cut to allow clearance for the rear lens holder.
• I needed to add captive threaded brass inserts to tabs to help secure the two sections of the eye together. This will allow future easier access to the servo inside, see next picture:

• The claw arm needed some work on the piston rod fixing part of it, see next picture. I cut a cleat end off to keep the threaded tube part, and I filed the sides flat on a nut to go on the rod end. Added a drop of thread lock.

• The base plate has now had M6 coach bolts and nuts fitted to better hold it and support the mast structure. I feel better about it’s strength and stability now.

Test fitted the mast and head assembly together, along with the arms, into the track base unit.